NORTH DAKOTA: GOP Lawmaker Outed, Claims Retaliation For Anti-Gay Voting

Via Fargo's ABC affiliate:

A North Dakota lawmaker who sent an explicit photo of himself to another man says the exchange being made public is retaliation for a recent vote against expanding gay rights. Rep. Randy Boehning, a 52-year-old Republican legislator from Fargo, says a Capitol employee told him a fellow lawmaker vowed to out him as gay if he continued to vote against bills granting gays legal protections against discrimination. Boehning refused to identify at this point who he believes is behind the purported political payback for his vote against Senate Bill 2279, the third such bill defeated in the past six years by North Dakota legislators.

The exchange came to light when Dustin Smith, a 21-year-old Bismarck man with no known connections to the Capitol, contacted The Forum earlier this month, saying he recognized Boehning from a gay dating smartphone app called Grindr. Chatting under the user name Top Man!, Boehning sent Smith sexually suggestive messages and, in the early morning hours of March 12, an unsolicited photo of his penis, according to exchanges reviewed by The Forum. "How can you discriminate against the person you're trying to pick up?" Smith said in a recent interview. When first questioned about the messages two weeks ago, Boehning declined to comment on whether he sent the explicit photo and messages. But on Saturday he confirmed he was Top Man! and said he doesn't think sending a graphic photo of himself to a stranger is a lapse in judgment, as Grindr is an adult site where users often exchange such images.

Boehning defends his anti-gay voting record, saying he is merely following the wishes of his constituents. He also says that he's now glad the have the "1000-lb gorilla" of the closet off his back. (Tipped by JMG reader Mark)

15 AGs To Supreme Court: Same-Sex Marriage Will Cause Incalculable Damage

The attorneys general of fifteen states have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which they predictably argue that a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage will "irretrievably" destroy their right to self-government. From the brief: 

The Constitution takes no sides on same-sex marriage, and therefore leaves the issue up to the free deliberations of state citizens. The fact that Americans have reached different conclusions about this novel question is not a sign of a constitutional crisis that requires correction by this Court. It is rather a sign that our Constitution is working as it should. In our federal system, this issue must be resolved by the "formation of consensus" at the state level. To resolve it instead through federal judicial decree would demean the democratic process, marginalize the views of millions of Americans, and do incalculable damage to our civic life in this country.

While the brief cites Loving several times and acknowledges that there are "constitutional guarantees" on the equal application of marriage laws, somehow those guarantees do not apply to LGBT Americans.

NORTH DAKOTA: Gov. Jack Dalrymple Orders State Agencies Not To Discriminate

Via the Associated Press:

North Dakota's Republican governor sent a memo to 17 government departments on Monday saying discrimination against anyone is unacceptable, just two hours before every Democrat in the Legislature delivered a letter calling on him to go further and issue an executive order prohibiting bias against gays and lesbians. Gov. Jack Dalrymple's chief of staff sent the letter to all agency directors appointed by the governor. "This administration expects all cabinet agencies to hire employees and to maintain agency staff based on ability and performance," Chief of Staff Ron Rauschenberger wrote. "Ours remains a policy of non-discrimination, including no discrimination based on sexual orientation." All 38 Democrats from the House and Senate delivered a letter to Dalrymple later in the day asking him to issue an executive order to require state agencies to ban discrimination in hiring and employment based on sexual orientation. Democrats are the minority in the Legislature, where Republicans hold two-thirds majorities.

On Friday the North Dakota House rejected a bill that would have provided LGBT anti-discrimination protections in housing, employment, and public accommodations. The bill had been narrowly approved by the state Senate.

NORTH DAKOTA: Paper Publishes Photos Of Pols Who Voted Against LGBT Rights

From the HRC's blog:

The cover of yesterday’s Forum of Fargo-Moorhead made a bold statement for LGBT equality, featuring the photos of North Dakota House Representatives who voted against non-discrimination protections. According to the Forum, this was the third time in six years the House failed to pass a measure that would prohibit bias in housing and employment based on sexual orientation. Earlier this week, The Indianapolis Star published a similar front-page editorial calling for Indiana lawmakers and Governor Mike Pence to ensure that the recently passed religious refusal law cannot be used as a shield for discrimination.

The paper denies that it was trying to shame those legislators. Jim Romenesko has more:

In today’s Morning Report, I said The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead tried to shame lawmakers for voting against a bill that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. That’s wrong, says editor Matthew Von Pinnon. “We did not do it to shame anyone, as many people are [implying],” he says. “We did it simply to convey the info people wanted to know, no matter which side of the issue they are on. They wanted to know how each lawmaker voted. We shared all votes, including from the Senate, which had earlier narrowly passed the bill.” The newspaper has received dozens of emails and phone calls, says the editor, “but social media has just blown up over it.” People on Twitter are praising the paper for making “a bold statement for LGBT equality,” and “[calling] out anti-gay reps,” which it’s not doing, according to Von Pinnon.

NORTH DAKOTA: Lawmakers Kill Bill That Would Have Granted LGBT Protections

The Bismarck Tribune reports:

For the third time in six years, North Dakota lawmakers have killed legislation that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. House lawmakers voted by nearly a 2-to-1 margin Thursday to defeat Senate Bill 2279, which would have added sexual orientation to state law that already protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability or status with respect to marriage or public assistance. The bill was divided at the request of Assistant Minority Leader Corey Mock, D-Grand Forks, forcing lawmakers to vote separately on outlawing discrimination when it comes to public accommodations and services and the advertising of them, and on housing, employment, financial assistance and personal business transactions.

In February the bill narrowly won passage in the state Senate by a 25-22 vote. (Tipped by JMG reader George)

NORTH DAKOTA: State Senate Narrowly Approves LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

Via the Associated Press:

North Dakota’s Republican-led Senate has narrowly approved a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Senate voted 25-22 on Tuesday to send the legislation to the House, going against the wishes of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which heard testimony on the legislation earlier this month and voted 4-2 to give the bill a “do not pass” recommendation. North Dakota law already outlaws discrimination based on such things as race, age, disability and political affiliation. The measure would add prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill has exemptions for religious organizations.

Similar North Dakota bills failed twice in recent years. (Tipped by JMG reader Lulu)

NORTH DAKOTA: Attorney General Seeks Dismissal Of Marriage Lawsuit

GOP North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem today filed a motion seeking the dismissal of the marriage equality lawsuit filed in late May.

The state attorney general's office filed the motion late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fargo. North Dakota Solicitor General Doug Bahr argues in court documents that states have the right to define and regulate marriage. "Nothing in the United States Constitution prevents the people of North Dakota from defining marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman," Bahr wrote in his 50-page response. North Dakota voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage 10 years ago. The ballot received 73 percent approval. "The people of North Dakota, through the deliberative political process, retain the traditional understanding of marriage as the union between a man and a woman," Bahr wrote. "It is the constitutional duty of the attorney general to represent the state when it is sued," he said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Only the Supreme Court can determine whether North Dakota's enactment is constitutional or not," he said.

A second marriage lawsuit was filed against state last month.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Matt is on the road.

NORTH DAKOTA: Another Marriage Suit

Via the Associated Press:

A second lawsuit has been filed in federal court challenging North Dakota’s ban on same-sex marriage. The 33-page complaint filed by Jan Jorgensen and Cindy Phillips, who live in Fargo and were legally married in Minnesota, says the couple is treated as “legal strangers” in their home state. Last week, seven couples filed a complaint to make North Dakota the last state with a challenged same-sex marriage ban. Jorgensen and Phillips are represented by the national gay rights group Lambda Legal. Attorney Kyle Palazzolo says the couple approached Lambda about legal action because of the marriage momentum around the country.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap:

Wisconsin's marriage ban is unconstitutional. There've been more big defeats for the National Organization for Marriage. Utah officials resist a ruling that they must recognize the marriage licenses that the state issued to gay and lesbian couples last winter. And Pennsylvania voters show their support for the freedom to marry.

And That Makes All Of Them

Via the Associated Press:

Seven couples have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban on same-sex marriage in North Dakota, the last remaining state without a court challenge. The clerk of the court confirmed that the lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Fargo. It challenges both North Dakota's constitutional ban on gay marriage and its refusal to recognize marriages of same-sex couples who legally wed in other states. The lawsuit means cases are currently pending in all 31 states with gay marriage bans.

As expected, North Dakota's suit was filed by the same law firm that sued South Dakota last month.

VIDEO: North Dakota Tornado

The clip's maker is arguing with YouTube's commenters about how he should have reacted.

(Tipped by JMG reader Ray)

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap:

"More than sixteen and a half million Americans gained marriage equality last week, with decisive victories in Oregon and Pennsylvania. We have brand new lawsuits in the last few states that needed one. And the National Organization for Marriage has suffered even more losses this week."

NORTH DAKOTA: Marriage Suit Coming

North Dakota is about to lose its status as the only state without a marriage ban challenge.

“There will be a case filed challenging North Dakota’s same-sex marriage ban,” says Joshua Newville, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney who filed a suit Thursday against South Dakota’s ban on behalf of same-sex couples there. Newville is in talks with advocates and attorneys in North Dakota and confirmed that either he or another attorney will bring a lawsuit against that state’s ban within six to eight weeks.Until Wednesday, just three of the 33 states that ban same-sex marriage had not been sued over those policies. But same-sex couples sued Montana that day and South Dakota on Thursday, leaving only North Dakota’s unchallenged.

It took just under one year since Windsor to get here.

Four States Left

Via Good As You.

Fargo Gets A Gay Men's Chorus

From North Dakota's Inforum:

For a lot of people here, Sunday mornings mean church. For a group of about 15 area men, Sunday evenings mean going back to church – to First Congregational United Church of Christ in Fargo for weekly rehearsals of the new Fargo-Moorhead Gay Men’s Chorus. “Gay men have been singing forever,” chuckles Jon Landre, the director of the chorus. “Consider this. If all gay men were immediately visible, if we pulled out of all the choral programs in the churches, do you know how dead those programs would be?” The chorus started just a few months ago and hasn’t performed in public yet. So it’s in the same state as the first gay men’s chorus was when it got its start in 1978 in San Francisco.

The group is considering putting on a holiday concert.

North Dakota Creates Gay Tax Form

From the Grand Forks Herald:

North Dakota now has a tax form for married same-sex couples, and it’s precisely because the state doesn’t recognize such marriages. For the North Dakota tax department, that posed a bit of a dilemma, according to Lorie Bowker, who oversees the department’s income tax section. She said its answer was the form ND-1S, which was posted online about a week ago. It’s basically a work form for divvying up a couple’s federal tax filing so they can file as individuals in North Dakota. Bowker said, like the federal government, there is a “marriage penalty” built into the North Dakota tax code, so filing as individuals could be beneficial to same-sex couples. For example, a couple earning $75,000 together would owe the state $1,341, but if they filed as two individuals earning half that amount, they would together owe $151 less.

NYT Ponders Legacy Of Ken Mehlman

The New York Times is wondering what Ken Mehlman's legacy will be regarding LGBT rights.

Mr. Mehlman, 46, remains the hyper-intense, guarded strategist he was in his Bush days, with the same habit of looking past people instead of meeting their eyes. He shuns most interviews and still deflects personal questions, as he did back when rumors about his sexuality swirled. “I have a happy life today, and I had a happy life before,” he said. Freed of the burden of secrecy, he lives in the gay-friendly Chelsea neighborhood and summers in the Hamptons. Another friend called him “more and more comfortable in his skin.” He dates, but said he was not ready to marry.

He will not talk about any guilt he might feel for serving as the 2004 campaign manager, when Mr. Bush, courting Christian evangelicals, called for a federal ban on same-sex marriage and conservatives marched to the polls. Mr. Mehlman was rewarded with the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, a job he held until 2006. Some who once taunted him now praise him, saying coming out is difficult and anyone can change. “If you’re going to have an epiphany, do it like Mehlman,” said John Aravosis, a gay blogger. Others are still furious. “I doubt Ken Mehlman will ever be anything more than a bitter footnote in the history of our movement,” said another blogger, Joe Jervis.

As these things usually go, I was interviewed for twenty minutes and only one sentence from me was used.  Here's what I had hoped would make it into the article: "I'm not the right person to ask. You should be talking to the millions of gay people living in the 21 states that enacted marriage bans under Ken Mehlman's direction."  Hit the top link and read the full article and the comments. Most readers aren't very forgiving either.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Backs Marriage

"In speaking with North Dakotans from every corner of our great state, and much personal reflection, I have concluded the federal government should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private, and intimate relationships. I view the ability of anyone to marry as a logical extension of this belief. The makeup of families is changing, but the importance of family is enduring." - Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), becoming the 52nd sitting U.S. Senator to endorse marriage equality. (Via Towleroad)

NORTH DAKOTA: Voters Consider Ballot Measure To Ban Property Tax Entirely

Schools? Roads? Firefighters? Feh! New York Times:

Since Californians shrank their property taxes more than three decades ago by passing Proposition 13, people around the nation have echoed their dismay over such levies, putting forth plans to even them, simplify them, cap them, slash them. In an election here on Tuesday, residents of North Dakota will consider a measure that reaches far beyond any of that — one that abolishes the property tax entirely. “I would like to be able to know that my home, no matter what happens to my income or my life, is not going to be taken away from me because I can’t pay a tax,” said Susan Beehler, one in a group of North Dakotans who have pressed for an amendment to the state’s Constitution to end the property tax.

Proponents claim that the state makes enough money from oil revenues to make up the loss.